Oberburg Castle (Heldenbergen)

The Oberburg in the Heldenbergen district of the city of Nidderau in the Hessian Main-Kinzig district is a castle complex that emerged from a medieval spur castle.

Heldenbergen is located on the site of a Roman fort and vicus. The place is first mentioned in a document in 839. It is uncertain since when the complex on the steep slope above the Nidder has existed. It is first mentioned in the 12th century as property of the Lords of Heldenbergen. Gieselbert von Heldenbergen, who died in 1218, was possibly the first castellan of the Imperial Castle Friedberg.

In 1370, Gottfried von Stockheim was mentioned as the owner. The complex had probably come into the possession of the Stockheims through purchase or as a dowry. The Stockheims are documented as officials or burgmannen in numerous imperial and Hanau castles in the region. In 1383, Gottfried received permission to build another castle, the Nassburg, on a meadow below the Oberburg, which he had received as a Hanau fief. The Oberburg had possibly become too small for use by several families.

With Henrich Wilhelm von Stockheim, the Heldenbergen line died out in 1614. This led to inheritance disputes, during which Jobst von Adolips violently occupied the Oberburg in 1616. In 1617, the property fell to Burkhard Engelbrecht von Hattstein. During this time, the castle was converted into a palace-like structure, probably also involving the demolition of a formerly existing main tower. After the Hattstein family died out in 1767, the Oberburg was acquired by Johann Maximilian von Günderrode, the grandfather of the poet Karoline von Günderrode, who also owned a castle in Höchst an der Nidder (Schloss Günderrode). In 1797, the Prussian chamberlain Jakob Friedrich von Rohde owned the castle. He had some further alterations carried out and in 1803, the chapel was added to the main building. In 1886, the Grand Ducal chamberlain Hugo Freiherr von Leonhardi acquired the Oberburg. It is now in private ownership.